Tresine Troubles
Season Four, Episode One
The script opens with the Enterprise receiving a subspace call from a nearby planet's president - a coup attempt by an extremist group has been stopped Just in Time, and the criminals are in custody. The problem is, while the situation is under control, emotions are running wild and the authorities want the extremists off the planet and in Federation custody as soon as possible, especially since the trial for a coup attempt would have to be held off-planet according to Federation law. Kirk agrees to take the prisoners to a Federation prison colony, and beams down to the planet with Spock and a team of Red Shirts. The situation takes a rapid turn for the worse moments after they land - turns out the coup was a success after all, and the president (along with most of the planetary authorities) is under mind control. The landing party is taken prisoners, and the extremist leader explains his intention to use the mind control device to hijack the Enterprise...
- A Mind Can Be A Terrible Thing To Read: Spock warns the Zoleni telepaths of this. The Grand Theft Me ploy is taking a great deal out of the telepaths as well as the victims - Azaer, one of the telepaths, is in his early twenties, but looks haggard and old, and Spock warns him that he can't last much longer. Unfortunately, the Zolenis have a martyrdom complex and has no problem with killing themselves for the cause.
- The Coup: What sets the entire plot in motion. An extremist group, the Zolenis, on Tresine Six, wants secession from the Federation and has staged a coup on the planet's government, with the help of Klingon supplied technology. The landing party ends up in their midst.
- Distress Call: From the president of the planet. Somewhat Played With, in that the president immediately states they don't need emergency assistance, the situation is under control, and all they need is the starship to take some troublesome prisoners off-planet. Turns out there is plenty need for assistance, but the president doesn't know it at the moment
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Justified. The Zolenis tasked with guard duty are mostly gung-ho young men with delusions of grandeur. They are trained to fight, but in other aspects of military discipline, they fall way short. Kirk is able to escape by luring them into his cell.
- The Only One Allowed To Kill You : Apparently, Kor has something of this attitude towards Kirk. The reason the Zolenis don't want to use the Body Surf device on Kirk is that Kor (who is providing support to the coup) has demanded the captain, "more or less intact" as part of the payment for Klingon help.
- Mind-Control Device: A modified version of the Klingon mind sifter. "Empties the mind...to fill it with another." Basically, allows the telepaths in the Zoleni team to Body Surf into anyone subjected to the device. Apparently, the Klingons have learned something from the Organian debacle - this one has been tested on other telepathic species, including Vulcans. It will work on them, just needs a little longer than for non-telepaths.
- Pretend to Be Brainwashed : Spock. Kirk's rescue attempt gave him just enough time to prevent Azaer from taking over, instead imprisoning the Zoleni in his own mind.
- We Have Reserves: The Zoleni leader's reaction when warned that the telepaths he is using to take over the opponents can't last long. The telepaths themselves are aware of this, and accepts it readily enough.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When the landing party members with the exception of Kirk (actually the terrorists who have pulled a Grand Theft Me on the landing party) 'escapes', and runs out to meet the rescue team, all look like they have been through a fight, sporting phaser burns, cuts and bruises. Lends credibility to the idea of their having escaped, Kirk having been re-captured along the way.
- Later, the crew pretends to have been knocked out by Sleeping Gas to lure the Zolenis off the planet surface and out of triggering range for the bombs they have set up in every building down there.
